Food waste collected from households by LAs – whether for recycling, or as part of the residual waste stream – makes up around 80% of the total food thrown away by households, with the remaining going down the sink or home composted. Therefore, LA collected food waste provides a way of tracking household food waste trends over time. WRAP have also updated estimates for the amount of home composted and sewer waste, the detail of the types of food wasted in homes and reasons for disposal are in a separate report: Household Food and Drink Waste in the United Kingdom 2022.
Originally published in November 2023, we restated the report in June 2025 after minor inconsistencies relating to adjustment factors were identified. Following thorough quality assurance, we identified that the amount of household food waste collected by Local Authorities in 2021 was around 2.5% higher than originally estimated.
Data for 2022 is also now available in: Local Authority Collected Household Food Waste in the UK 2022.
Download files
-
Local Authority Collected Household Food Waste in the UK 2021
PDF, 1.23 MB
By downloading resources you are agreeing to use them according to our terms and conditions.
These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.